.... and I am now calling *uncle*. I love historical fiction and I've not found many novels based on this period in US history so I was very much looking forward to this book. I have lost count of the times I have picked this book up and put it down for another. Unlikeable characters, a plot that takes too long to get moving and the worst sin of all (at least for me) is the alternating chapters with the first person point of view of Ethan and Joan. Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir got away with it, but now it's getting very very old. Two stars.

I ordered this while high on repeat viewings of "1776" and the build-up to the elections, but when it arrived, I had to ask myself "WHAT was I thinking?" This is not my style at all. I don't care much for thrillers or mysteries, and while colonial and post-revolutionary history interests me, it's not a passion.

I must say, Liss did catch my interest immediately. His hero, Ethan Saunders, comes from a great tradition of intelligent rogues with secret sorrows. He also has created a heroine in much the same vein in Joan Maycott. Not so much of the secret sorrow there, but she's young when we meet her, and hasn't had time for many sorrows.

Given that Liss' central characters are smart, reasonably interesting characters, I'd have hoped that the narrative would live up to them. Unfortunately I wasn't as captivated by it as I had hoped I'd be. It jumps about a good deal, which is disorienting, and it's dry and often difficult to push through. It's not bad, it just requires a good deal of work, which I'm not entirely sure it rewards in the end.

I would say that for those readers who are students of the American economic model, this might prove more interesting than it did to me. The story echoes the sort of questionable business practices which inform today's headlines. Fascinating as a news story, particularly when your livelihood is at stake, but perhaps not so much in novel form. Still, for readers who are fans of this sort of novel, I suspect it will pay off handsomely.

If you are a fan of historical fiction and period pieces, you will really enjoy this book by Liss. The plot he weaves is as interesting as the characters he creates to place within it. This is the first book by Liss that I've read, but I can see from the reviews that some of his other volumes are likely to be as good as this one. Since I was so impressed by this effort, I plan to dive into the others as well.

This novel has everything i like. It's great fiction as Liss is a fine constructer of storyline and it speaks of a little known but interesting part of American history, the whiskey rebellion and the Bank of the US. And if that's not enough, it deals with whiskey! Liss bounces the reader back and forth between the frontier (western Pennsylvania) and Phildelphia and weaves a complex tale of deceit and greed. It's complex , like the many flavors noticeable in a fine glass of bourbon, served 'neat'.

For those of you who have already read David Liss' "The Whiskey Rebels" and are wondering how on earth something so crappy is rated so highly, this review is for you! Turgid, abysmal, studded with unlikable characters and descriptions that alternate between revolting and deadly dull, "The Whiskey Rebels" is a 500 page punishment I recommend only if you have done something terrible and need atonement.

As background, I love historical fiction, and I really love the American Revolution time period. I'm also not a very exacting critic; I want a novel to be outstanding and thrilling but will happily settle for just entertaining. I wanted to like this novel, but I just couldn't. A quick sum-up why:

-Flat, repellant characters who all sound exactly alike, and I mean everyone. The men speak exactly like the women and everyone seems to be variations on the same basic personality. Which works if you're PG Wodehouse, but not when you're writing about a bunch of losers.

-Descriptions that manage to reduce the most vibrant of historical periods to a bleak gray blob of mud. Muddy taverns, muddy people, muddy skies. I realize there was a lot of mud in 1792, but there isn't enough dirt in Boston to make that much mud.

-The only interesting character (and we're grading on a curve) is given chapters endings like "I would soon learn we had been tricked into trading the hope of our future for nothing but ashes and sorrow." That sounds exciting! I can't wait to read on! And then I'll drown my personal ashes and sorrow in jello!

-Excruciating details about whose fist hit whose tummy, but no details about the incredible times supposedly surrounding our story. I read better in the police registry.

And so on. Yeah, I didn't like it. I rate "The Whiskey Rebels" 1 1/2 stars, rounded up to 2 for Amazon, only because I rated the Lance Bass movie "On the Line" 1 star and "Rebels" didn't give me as big a migraine.

GRADE: D

Having read and greatly enjoyed Liss' three prior historical novels (check out my 5 star reviews of A Conspiracy of Paper and A Spectacle of Corruption), I was excited when The Whiskey Rebels became available. Liss' gritty, picaresque style and his attention to historical detail has turned me into a fan and advocate. The Whiskey Rebels got off to a great start and I thought I was in more of the same. Unfortunately, Liss got bogged down in the details of very complex and subtle financial machinations and I became bored and confused. His characters were interesting as usual, but deserved a better narrative. The best of Liss is certainly in this book, but the flaws turned it into a dissappointment.

After writing his first contemporary novel, THE ETHICAL ASSASSIN, Edgar Award winner David Liss is back on more comfortable ground with another exceptional piece of historical fiction, THE WHISKEY REBELS. For the first time, Liss is exploring America's past, an interesting challenge for an author who has focused on more obscure topics like England's 18th-century Exchange Alley or immigrant Jewish farmers in 17th-century Amsterdam. Here he tackles the early days of the American adventure in a surprisingly timely tale of corrupt and unethical bank speculators who almost bring down the fledgling country's new financial institution --- the Bank of the United States.

THE WHISKEY REBELS begins in 1792 with two alternating protagonists. The first chapter is narrated by Captain Ethan Saunders, a formerly dashing and daring spy for General Washington, who has fallen on hard times and now scrapes by on the streets, seducing wealthy women and spending what money he can scrounge on hard drink with hard men. Saunders gets a second chance in life after being branded a traitor and banished from civilized society. He still has valuable skills, and when his lost love needs him once again, he helps the new government he fought to establish smoke out a conspiracy against the nation's banking system.

The second chapter is narrated by Joan Maycott, a well-educated prospective novelist who journeys with her husband from the civilized eastern seaboard into the untamed west --- Pennsylvania. Maycott's story is the tale of the hardened men and women who played such a vital roll in taming the undeveloped country. Liss does a superb job here, making it clear just how difficult life on the frontier really was. Clearing the land and making a living were the least of the Maycotts' problems. They also had to deal with dishonest businessmen and even American Indians unhappy about being pushed further and further west.

Each chapter alternates between the two well-drawn and compelling characters until the disparate stories collide at the end of the novel. THE WHISKEY REBELS is historical fiction at its very best. Liss inserts the reader right in the middle of post-Revolutionary War America and makes them feel right at home. The time period is vividly recreated, and the fictional Saunders and Maycott mingle seamlessly with real historical figures like Alexander Hamilton, William Duer and even the great George Washington himself.

Historical thrillers like this are often flawed works, falling short either on period details or failing to create a compelling story that moves the characters naturally through an otherwise well-crafted set piece. Liss is among the genre's best writers. The story not only has a compulsively readable plot and believable historical details, the author also has a knack for creating wonderful period dialogue. The characters in THE WHISKEY REBELS sound like real people, but real people from the 1700s, a noteworthy accomplishment.

Liss is a special writer, and this is his best novel yet. At first glance, a story about bankers, speculators and taxes doesn't sound like a very exciting thriller, but he explains the early banking system clearly without awkward exposition. Greedy banking speculators are central to the plot, making Liss one of the only people in America to profit from our current financial crisis. THE WHISKEY REBELS is a timely tale that makes it clear that East Coast bankers throwing the country's financial institutions into chaos is nothing new.

--- Reviewed by Jonathan Snowden

First let me say my attitude about genre fiction ( sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, horror, and so on). It increasingly has to be compelling and sophisticated. I'm willing to accept slightly underdeveloped characters for an interesting story, or vice versa.

For me historical fiction is another genre that has do more than be set in a specific historical setting. For example Michael Shaara's the Killer Angel's will be one of my favorite historical novels of all time. However, his son's attempts at historical fiction are fairly uneven and while I appreciate his efforts, I gave up on his writing several novels ago.

So I decided to read Liss's the Whiskey Rebels in the hopes of discovering a new historical fiction writer. While the novel seems well researched, I'm underwhelmed by the voices of the alternating narrators and had a difficult time getting through the first chapters. Further I can only wonder why a novel needs to be 500 hundred pages. That for me is only saved for a novel that is amazing and ambitious, two words I cannot use to describe the Whiskey Rebels. Perhaps this should have been two different novels?

For anyone who wants to understand the American financial markets and why they are as explosive as wbiskey kegs left too long in the sun - this is your novel. And what a ride it is! What makes this so much fun to read is the characters. These are all people you want to know - even the bad guys. No whiny, wimpy people emoting - this is an action novel in every sense. One of the main characters, Joan Maycott, is formidable and determined, but women will recognize her as being a woman. What if someone powerless took actions that could topple the government, and what if they did so without violence? She is a great modern female character that women will enjoy and can relate to. Ethan Saunders is the charming scoundrel with principles. And there's plenty of whiskey for everyone. This could be the most entertaining history lesson ever. I highly recommend it to any High School History teachers out there looking to engage their class. The very timely themes include the settling of the West, the role of women, Jews and slaves, the start of our modern financial system and the growth of commerce in America.

The Whiskey Rebels is a story of two people, and how their lives become intertwined. It's also a story of greed, revenge, deception, love ... in short, it's a pretty gripping story about the human condition, set in the very early days of the United States.

Ethan Saunders is a disgraced Revolutionary War hero who depends on the charity or carelessness of others for his survival. He ends up caught up in intrigue against the foundation of the nascent American economy; an attack on the stability of the Bank of the United States that could cripple the entire country, putting the fledgling democracy in jeopardy. Saunders is a very stereotypical character -- the lovable rogue who ends up doing everything he can to become the hero. Saunders spends the entire book trying to do the right thing, and often fails miserably simply because he's not sure what the right thing is, or exactly how to do it. Saunders is tragically flawed; he has a weakness for drink and fairer sex, both of which almost prove his undoing.

Joan Maycott is a woman who has been wronged by men in power. Everything that she has ever held dear has been taken from her because of greed, and she has determined to make everyone responsible pay dearly. Maycott is a stereotypical anachronistic liberated woman in post-colonial America. She's also a character that the reader wants to sympathize with, but isn't always sure if they should. That conflict alone should keep you reading, just to find out whether Joan is really the "good guy" or not.

In spite of the stereotypic characterization (which extends beyond the two primary characters to the supporting cast), this is a good read. Once I started, I had trouble putting the book down, just to see whose Machiavellian machinations would end up triumphing. And I think that the book is remarkably prescient; I often found myself comparing the economic troubles portrayed in the book, and the solutions to them, with contemporary issues and events.

I haven't read Liss' other books, but after reading The Whiskey Rebels I think I may search them out. While the characterization is a bit weak, the suspense in the plot more than makes up for it.

Having enjoyed Liss's A Conspiracy of Paper very much, I had high expectations for The Whiskey Rebels, which takes place in post-Revolutionary War America. And, after reading almost 100 pages -- in which the story lines about the two main characters, Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott, were being established, I thought my expectations were on the way to being met. However, it was a considerable part of the next almost 500 pages that I, ultimately, found to be disappointing. Without going into details and risk giving anything away about what happens, I found the book to be about 200 pages too long, its plot to lose much of it steam (and thus my attention), and it had too many secondary characters (which too often tended to be distracting and uninteresting). As such, I felt I used up too much energy forcing myself to finish this mostly disappointing book of historical fiction.

David Liss creates a post Revolutionary War saga that gives the reader a behind the scenes look at the workings of the new United States government through the eyes of an ordinary citizen and a former army officer in his new book, The Whiskey Rebels.

Liss uses a chapter format that alternates the experiences of his two main characters Ethan Saunders, the former officer, now living in drunken disgrace in Philadelphia, and Joan Maycott, a woman who moves with her husband to the western frontier near Pittsburgh.

The title of the book provides the reason why the characters exist and why the two main characters eventually come to interact - the Whiskey Rebellion. This rebellion in the newly formed United States is normally not stressed when learning about its birth but was a key to establishing the economic strength of the nation and Alexander Hamilton's national bank. An excise tax was imposed by the Washington Administration on those frontier settlers that used the whiskey they made from excess grain as barter for the exchange of goods and services. The tax was not well received and after many acts of protest the new government sent troops to Western Pennsylvania to stop the rebels.

The author does a good job at creating a sense of the period, using a language style that seems appropriate for the post revolution period. At times, however, the style becomes too wordy and the action in the book too reliant on exposition rather than action.

Early on, the convention Liss employs that switches the action between Saunders and Maycott at two different historical periods is confusing. The early chapters on Maycott and her desire to write drag a bit. It's not until she reaches Pittsburgh's outlying region with her husband that her story picks up and Maycott's desire to author a book actually plays a part in the story.

On the other hand, the saga of Saunders starts out almost immediately at a high level of interest. Who is this man, now labeled a traitor, and why does it seem that everyone he meets dislikes him at best or wants to kill him?

The book provides a fascinating background into the history of the times and, though fictional, portrays the men and women of early America as they might have been. Liss's heavy research into the period and particularly the rebellion centered in the Pittsburgh area is evident and adds to the story.

However, the book is too long and the historical aspects too brief. Perhaps an increase in discussion of the history of the times would make its length appropriate. Saunders is an interesting character but it takes some time to create sympathy for his roguishness. In the middle of the book, the Maycott character exists in two different time periods depending on the chapter - one living in the late 1780's and one living in the mid 1790's. If Liss had better organized the book to bring Saunders and Maycott into the same time period sooner and at that time scrap the alternating convention he may have created a better read.

Criticism aside, the book is worth reading, provides some intrigue and suspense, engaging characters, and a unique look at a period not usually featured in a work of fiction.

There are some good things about David Liss's THE WHISKEY REBELS. But there are more things that I dislike, some that more vigorous editing might have remedied.

Let me begin with what needs fixing:

CONS

(1) The chapters are unnumbered for no discernible reason. I count 47 of them, about as many as Sir Walter Scott would have had in any of his WAVERLEY novels which might run as long as THE WHISKEY REBELS' 513 pages.

(2) Chapters 1 - 27 (in my numbering) alternate between first person narratives of onetime Revolutionary War American spy, Ethan Saunders, and an American widow, Joan Maycott. Then come two chapters headed Ethan Saunders.

Why the pattern break? Who is the intended audience of each series of first-person narratives? Not the other person. These chapters are not letters to anyone, nor are they drawing room tales to one's grandchildren. The tale then proceeds through 18 more chapters generally answering each other chorus wise. The two narratives eventually connect and weave themselves together. An overly elaborate imitation of Thornton Wilder's THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY? Bridge of San Luis Rey: A Novel

(3) The historical core of THE WHISKEY REBELS plausibly links the first Bank of the United States, chartered in 1791, the dangerous financial panic of 1792 and the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. Also drawn from history are William Duer and his effort to control the newly launched Million Bank as well as the death of onetime Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel with sitting Vice President Aaron Burr. Atmospherics include taverns and stock trading in New York and Philadelphia and scruffy frontier scenes in and around Pittsburgh.

These or other selected historical elements within the novel, including the author's speculative linkages, would make for a fascinating hour lecture in a good college course in American history or for a meaty 30 minute Torch Club talk (see (http://www.torch.org) followed by a half hour of traditional spirited debate among members.

But a 516 page historical novel? Whence the length? In his "Historical Note" author David Liss gives a hint: "I've merely made Joan and her Whiskey Rebels the cause of those events" (p. 516). Joan is Mrs Joan Maycott, heroine of nearly half the chapter headings mentioned above.

The subject matter is too slight and dull to support such a limping, hard to follow narrative. There are too many characters needlessly weighing down an overcomplicated plot.

PROS

(1) The financial panic of 1792, with its 4% notes and its 6% notes and its fear and greed, was both real and easy for us to understand compared to the U. S. housing market difficulties of 2007 and the global greed, fear and institutional stresses of 2008. A Reader's Digest-length shortening of THE WHISKEY REBELS could therefore usefully and didactically prepare readers to grapple with today's vastly more complex financial and market stresses. Stated otherwise: the novel is timely.

(2) A splendid opera, LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, was extracted from Sir Walter Scott's equally grand 1819 historical novel, THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR The Bride of Lammermoor (Oxford World's Classics). Liss's novel of 2008 lends itself to similar dramatic or operatic re-interpretation. Pennsylvania heroine Joan Maycott blames a chain of villains leading back to Alexander Hamilton for the murder of her whiskey-brewing husband out on the wild Pennsylvania frontier. Revolutionary war spy hero Ethan Saunders, darling of George Washington, had been cashiered from the Continental army late in that conflict by Colonel Hamilton on false charges of selling minor secrets to the British. Saunders nobly breaks off his engagement to the daughter of a spy colleague and descends into ten years of alcoholic hatred of Alexander Hamilton.

Joan puts together an implausible plot designed to ruin the Bank of the United States and its creator, Hamilton. Ethan, however, slowly changes his opinion of Hamilton and in the end serves both Treasury Secretary and the Bank (styled BUS in a purloined encrypted message easily deciphered by Ethan). Students of Dutch colonial history might also weave a play from the adventures in Surinam fighting for the rebel Maroons of Hamilton's fictional Jewish spy master Kyler Levien.

(3) The novel makes much of Thomas Jefferson's detestation of Alexander Hamilton and his financial initiatives which tended to create a much more powerful and centralized federal government than many Founders had envisioned. This rivalry between detached, Olympian President Washington and his two cabinet members creates a basis for frequent rhetorical outbursts -- some rather well done -- by various characters either pro law and order or pro individual liberty, pro purity in government or pro corruption on the detested British model.

Thus in one of the "Ethan Saunders" chapters (Number 35 by my count), p. 385, there is the following exchange between the erudite young black slave Leonidas and his master Saunders:

"'Is it not enough to be rich?' Leonidas asked me. 'What drives a man to a wealth that will crush all others?'

'It is the dark side of liberty," I said. 'A man is not hindered by what cannot be done, so twisted men like Duer apply that liberty to their greed.'"

Not bad dialog, only embedded in a tale far, far, far too slow in the telling. -OOO-

David Liss displays a mastery of narrative voice in "The Whiskey Rebels." He shifts back and forth between two main characters, sometimes even bouncing back and forth chronologically; but the story is engaging and easy to follow. Liss' real achievement here is in character creation -- even his briefest throw-away characters are colorful and memorable, and the leads -- and their various associates -- are particularly engaging and interesting. The story unfolds at a steady pace, building toward a satisfying and exciting climax. Liss blends history and fiction very well here -- his characters interact with Burr, Hamilton, and other notable figures from that time period, and it always feels natural and comfortable, as if Hamilton were simply another of his detailed, textured characters. I apologize for the use of cliche, but my only disappointment with the book was that it was not longer; I hated to put it down at the end. I would dearly love to see further stories with these characters (particularly Ethan Saunders). Liss has done a spectacular job here, and anyone even remotely interested in the period -- or just plain well-crafted fiction -- will greatly enjoy the time spent with "The Whiskey Rebels."

I work very hard on trying to expand my historical knowledge base because of a recent discovery (made by reading novels oddly enough) that high school, and even college, history classes are completely inadequate. The more I read, the more I discover, the less I realize that I know.

So, having never heard of the whisky rebellion, I picked this book from amazon vine. Set after the American Revolution and during the presidency of George Washington it's a period I knew very little about.

This is an absorbing and gripping tale of the politics that lead up to the whisky rebellion, which took place some years after the book ends. Populated with incredible characters from feuding statesmen, feminists ahead of their time, drunks wasting their potential, and revolutionary soldiers who were ripped off by the system for their military pay, this is an atmospheric novel which will grab your interest and refuse to let go.

Five stars.

Liss's historical novels are noted for being very complex, but his writing is so skilled, that the books are very enjoyable. This particular book is set in the United States after the Revolutionary War. Liss peoples his pages with many known historical figures such as Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and many others. And his fictional characters are so real that they appear to have also been there. Liss also concentrates quite heavily on the financial world for his books, and that is certainly the case here. We get a first-hand look at the FIRST American financial panic which occurred in the early months of 1792. It was almost eerie reading this because of what is currently happening in the financial world. The panic of 1792 is eerily similar to what is happening today, even though the credit crunch now can be traced to mortgage loans this time. In 1792 it was scrips for bank stocks. This is such an excellent book. The fictional character of Joan Maycott is a very strong creation. A remarkable and a determined woman who does not forget a wrong done to her or to her loved ones or friends. The pace is quick even though the book is long. I highly recommend this book.

1. Joan and Andrew Macott lived in New York.
2. Andrew as a carpenter
3. Joan suffered numerous failures in child delivery and most died before three months in the womb.
4. Andrew was a veteran of the Revolutionary war having served under General Washington.
5. Andrew was introduced to William Doer would explain fantastic story of wealth and luxury in the West. Andrew exchanged his confederate notes for supposed ownership rights of land in Pennsylvania. Speculator, William Doer wrote up the contract, arranged for caravan guidance, and accepted cheated money from the Macotts. The contract read, as a right, to lease land in Pennsylvania and contained no mention of land title transfer. Doer's man Reynolds, large of stature and grossly engrossed in exploitation, escorted the innocent Macott's across Indian Territory and during the trip the Macotts learned to hate him. The group arrives at the home bigot Captain Tindall.
6. Captain Tindall explains the terms of the contract. Andrew is upset, but realizes they have been deceived. Tindall explains that lease payments will be required and the land will not produce enough money for the lease. At this point Tindall offers an exchange for lease payments and wants extra martial relationships with Joan. Andrew rejects the offer, departs for his land, meets Dalton and his Irish clan, chops down eight trees, builds a new home, and cooperates with Dalton into building a Whiskey Still.
7. Whiskey is the bartered commodity in the West. Whiskey was easier to transport than grain to the East. Andrew had created a unique flavored Whiskey and it became popular. Soon, wheat farmers began bringing their wheat to be manufactured into Whiskey.
8. Philadelphia was the center of Trade not New York. Pearson was trading in Philadelphia. The Million Dollar bank was to be launched in New York.
9. Alexander Hamilton, head of the US Treasury covertly influences Congress to pass the Whiskey Tax to provide funding for the US National Bank. The compromise of 1790 was Hamilton's plan for the federal government to assume all the state debt for the war. Bond Debt interest payments in perpetual to rich Boston merchants.
10. The First National bank operated as depositors put money into the bank and received dollar payments in interest. The depositors received bonds. As debt increase more money was issued into circulation.
11. In the west, the westerns short on cash found the tax oppressive and small rebellions flared up. These individual would be very unlikely to deposit in a bank.
12. Captain Tindall becomes the local tax collector and believing that Andrew owes back taxes on his Whiskey production, decides to deduct it from owed lease money, and uses the debt to exploit Joan. Previously, Andrew had killed three Indians sent by Tindall to rape Joan. Now, Tindall and two of him men arrive at the Maccott home, while Andrew is gone to violate her. Joan kills one of the men, the other flees, and Captain Tindall escapes, however, during the escape, Tindall kills Andrew. Captain Tindall's man returns and hangs Tindall and gives Joans a large stack of bank notes. Suspicious of murder directed as Joan was dropped and Tindall's death ruled a suicide. Joan and Dalton decide a plot of revenge against Doer and anarchy overthrown of Hamilton.
13. Cythania Pearson attempts to contact Ethan Saunders at his home. Ethan Saunders is not at home, he is drunk in a tavern. A man name Doorland and four men want Ethan. Ethan has corrupted Doorlands wife, immorally. Doorland and his men attempt physical violence. Leonidas and Lavigne spare Ethan form death in a rescue. Lavigne demonstrates martial skill. Lavigne works for Hamiliton and tracking the disappearance of Jacob Pearson. Hamilton loaned Pearson 50k.
14. Mrs. Dasher expels Ethan from quarters. Mrs. Dasher forcefully receives bribery money from Reynolds, with the intent of cooperatively expelling Ethan. Ethan makes his way to Cynthia Pearon's home. Cynthia tells Ethan, she and the children are being watched and her husband Jacob Pearson is missing. The Whiskey rebel clan warns Ethan, not to pursue the missing Jacob Pearson.
15. Jacob Pearson is no friend of Ethan Saunders; during the Revolutionary war, Pearson conspired to have Ethan and Fleet expel from the Army, for selling secrets to the British. Hamilton claimed Ethan and Fleets departure saved them from Court Martial and Death, for it was Hamilton that arranged quarters of Ethan. Fleet attempted to prove innocence but was mysteriously murdered. Pearson murdered by Fleet, Ethan breaks off his engagement with Cynthia and flees, and Pearson marries Cynthia, his Fleet's daughter.
16. Hamilton is having an affair with Reynolds wife and being blackmail for money.
17. Joan Maccot leads the Whiskey rebels anarchists. Joan secret entitles: Reynolds, Whipple (Doers man), Leonidas, Dalton, and Pearson, in an attempt, to ruin the National bank. Ethan and Lavigne discovered that Joan and her men are the real threat to the National bank, instead of, Jefferson. Jefferson remained Hamilton's political enemy.
18. Hamilton feared Jefferson and the media, but they provided not threat. Jefferson visualized a bank backed by land.
19. Joan like Ethan and did not want to hurt him, only slow him down. However, five of her clan killed after Lavgne discharged a grenade and killed a guard.
20. Doer had taken 230k from the Treasury, a secret that Joan Maccott revealed. Hamilton began prosecution-causing credit to become impossible for Doer. Creditors began hounding Pearson for money.
21. Joan spied on agents for William Doer and learned about his plot. Joan gained Doers confidence by telling Doer, his own plans which she had learned from his agents.
22. Washington tells Ethan that he can trust Hamilton. Hamilton is not the villain.
23. Bonds were used to buy scripts and scripts were used to buy shares. Doer hoped to corner the National bank. Doer wanted to use profits for the launch of the "Million Dollar" bank for his design.
24. Doer planned to buy 6% bonds and thereby gain control of both the script and bonds for the million-dollar bank. Doer wanted to lower the price of the bond. Doer conspired with Pearson, a real estate tycoon; too buy up 4% bonds, driving down the 6% bond prices. Doer told Pearson, they were partners, and he would be compensated for his losses. Doer planned on buying up 6% bonds when the price dropped as pressure from 4% distracted investors.
25. With Doer gone, demand for 6% would drop, and 4% bonds demand rise. The owner of 4% would profit. Bonds with interest were financial commodities. Hamilton losses would increase as 6% bonds dropped in value and liquidity froze up solid. In essence the National Bank would take on the IOUs of the war debt and they would become worthless depleting the value of the bank. Scripts and bonds to own shares in a worthless bank would drive investors away.
26. Hamilton's Federalist financial management would be in ruin, the banking experiment failed, the National bank collapse, no common currency, and economy in ruin.
27. Pearson discovered in late that he was ruined, the creditors pursuing, properties sold, and $100,000 in debt. Pearson initially disappeared to void Philadelphia creditors. Ethan found Pearson among shady women and determined he did not love his wife. Ethan vowed to save Cythia and compel her to leave Jacob.
28. Doer vouched for Pearsons debts and he resurfaced. Pearson and Reynolds capture Ethan and imprison him. Reynolds double-crosses Pearson and accepts a bribe from Joan and Ethan is released.
29. Ethan Saunders captured Doers Agents and block Doer from profits from the Million Dollar Bank. Doer speculation into financial ruin, putting him $800,000 dollars in debt. Joan then revealed to Doer her contempt for him and his selling of worthless land to her and the death of her husband. Joan hoped to ruin Doer and Hamilton, as 6% bonds crashed, and 4% rose. Ethan and Lavigne race to warn Hamilton. Lavigne horse is shot out from under him and he suffers a broken leg.
30. Doer had stole money from veterans, business, Treasury, and little old women to raise money.
31. Dalton kills Pearson, after Cynthia lied to Dalton, accusing Pearson of murder, Dalton's son. Ethan and Cynthia are together. Cynthia profits handsomely from 4%. The National Bank survives for another 12 years.
32. The Whiskey Rebellions was a tax revolt by the poor. Governmental force was used to put down the rebellion. Jefferson repelled the Whiskey tax.

Post American revolution in Philadelphia is part of the story with the western frontier the locale for the second part of the story. The early country and its evolution is a terrific backdrop for this adventure.
It is harsh at times but very believeable as it was a diffcult life.
The early political disagreements between the various leaders of the day was also a treat.
The different perspectives were also good.
I recommend this read.

Certainly, Mr. Liss is a master of period detail and atmosphere, but in the Whiskey Rebels, he gets bogged down with thinly drawn, cartoonish characters from the 18th century. There are comely wenches, swashbuckling gents and evil rogues who deserve the lash. Worse, all the protagonists are amazingly beautiful, handsome people. C'mon David, you're better than this--this isn't a John Jakes, made-for-TV novel. You should be creating REAL, believable characters from the past.

I tend to like historical mysteries/thrillers, but for some reason, had never picked up any of Liss' well-regarded books until now. The post-Revolutionary War setting intrigued me enough to try this one out, as I know next to nothing about the era in general, and precisely nothing about the real speculation and banking panic which inspired the story.

The book is driven by separate plotlines featuring a pair of awfully compelling protagonists. Captain Saunders is a penniless, drunk rogue who left the Revolutionary Army under scandalous (and possibly unfounded) circumstances some years earlier, and spends most of his time stewing in his own disgrace. He becomes embroiled in the search for the missing husband of his true love, which leads him down some shady streets, and into the corridors of power. Namely those of his former commander, Alexander Hamilton, now the Secretary of the Treasury. Meanwhile, Joan Maycott is a forward-thinking young woman of brains and beauty, who marries her first love and sets out with him to the wild wild West (that is to say, Western Pennsylvania). She heads down muddy paths and into a grim future, eking out a living with her husband under the thumb of a despotic overlord.

Unfortunately, although the two plotlines alternate chapters, their timelines do not coincide, making for some rather awkward back and forth. Captain Saunders' adventures take place in 1791, while Mrs. Maycott's take place several years earlier, and must catch up to the Saunders timeline. This results in some herky-jerky pacing, as days in one chapter give way to months in another. All of while gets even more confusing when other characters appear in both plotlines. It's not impenetrable, it just takes one out of the story a smidgen, which is unfortunate.

Otherwise, the two plotlines juxtapose well, as Saunders' story allows the reader to revel in Revolutionary-era Philadelphia, and follow the process of the fledgling financial markets, while Mrs. Maycott's captures the brutality of the West and how it changes its settlers. Of course, eventually the two stories dovetail, as a powerful speculator attempts to manipulate the market in a manner that might well spell doom for the fledgling American republic. Unfortunately, at this point Mrs. Maycott more or less stops being a full character and instead acts as a mysterious catalyst, robbing the reader of the more sympathetic of the two protagonists. Saunders takes center stage in a game of financial cat and mouse with huge ramifications.

Although Liss could never have known when he started, the subject matter is all too timely, and those looking for a good read dealing with market panics will find this to their taste. It's also got some rich historical atmosphere and detail, combining historical and fictional characters in a seamless manner. The dialogue deserves special mention, as Liss clearly revels in doling out clever wordplay to his protagonists. All in all a good read slightly undone by problems of pace, construction, and length.

I have never considered myself especially a fan of historical fiction. Nonetheless, quite a few of my favorite novels fall into that category. Honestly, I sort of love these books in spite of their period setting, not because of it. That said, The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss is the best mystery I've read in a long, long time.

It's set in a period I know little about--post-Revolutionary War America. Again, to be honest, my knowledge of American history in general doesn't go much beyond what I learned in grammar school. It bored me senseless because they never taught the really interesting stuff in school. Liss's tale of the Whisky Rebellion (which I had literally never heard of) was complex and riveting.

Our hero, of sorts, is Ethan Saunders, a thoroughly disgraced former Revolutionary War spy. He was framed as a traitor to the revolution, ultimately causing him to loose the woman he loved, Cynthia Pearson. In the years since, attended by his slave, Leonidas, Saunders has become a penniless, womanizing drunkard. It sounds bad, and it is bad. This man formerly of sterling character has fallen truly low. Still, for all his many flaws, Ethan Saunders is utterly charming. The man charmed my socks right off, and it is his charisma and humor that caused me so much delight throughout this novel. Mr. Liss, I beg you, bring back Ethan Saunders in future novels!

The actually mystery is quite convoluted, and a bit difficult to sum up in a few sentences. It has to do with the early American economy, and given my ignorance of history and economics, I had to pay close attention to follow everything that took place. But that, too, was the pleasure of this novel. It was complex. It was challenging. There was a large cast of characters, with some appearances by people even I remember learning about, such as Alexander Hamilton. This is an intricate 500-page mystery. There were twists and turns and surprises aplenty. At no point could I have guessed how it was going to end. So, in all ways, it was everything a mystery should be. In addition, it was a romance, a buddy story, a history lesson, an espionage novel, and more. I was fascinated, for instance, with the relationship between Ethan and Leonidas, which was unlike any I'd read about before. The Whiskey Rebels is highly recommended for readers of all stripes and inclinations.

I have not read any previous work by this author. That said, I didn't know what to expect. But as I got into this book there were times that I didn't want to put it down. It seemed to me that there was just enough historical fact mixed in with the story that, at times, it seemed that you were reading a part of history that you never knew about before. It was very plausable. There were numerous parts of the story that really made your mind wander... I found myself thinking about it long after I had put the book down. There was such a combination of emotion and thrilling events that you kept wondering where it would all go... it wasn't one of those stories in which the outcome was predicted midway through the book. I enjoyed the book very much and think anyone who is not totally hung up on "true" history will also like it. I would have given it 4 1/2 stars but since I could only go with either a 4 or a 5 rating, I went with the lower rating in the hopes that someone else who was also faced with that choice would take it to the higher level. A good read... I recommend this to those who love a solid mystery, thriller with historicaly mingled tidbits that help to make it all fall into place.

"The Whiskey Rebels" started off interesting right off the bat and kept me invested with its duel storylines that switched off chapter by chapter. A young married couple trying to get their start in VERY unhospitable conditions on one hand, and a charming anti-hero caught in a twisted web of intrigue and adventure on the other balanced out the tone very well. For fans of substantial historical fiction that's also fast-paced and entertaining, you really can't go wrong with "The Whiskey Rebels".

THE WHISKEY REBELS: A NOVEL contains all the ingredients for an intriguing and suspenseful story with history added into the mix. For historical fiction aficionados, who could ask for more. David Liss name drops and provides the well known and somewhat obscure figures in Early American history, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Philip Freneau, William Duer, Henry Brackenridge, Anne Bingham, and James and Marie Reynolds, who signify a place within the historical narrative. And with a dash of fiction, the two major characters of the book, Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott, happen to have business and financial dealings with several of these actors of history, which centers on the most historic events in American history that occurred during the 1790s -- the establishment of the Federal bank and the Whiskey Rebellion.

Indeed, Saunders's and Maycott's stories are distinct and separate narratives. They could easily stand alone, but Liss has written an interesting tale that are closely tied together and come full circle at the end of the novel after a series of climactic events occur that involve personal turmoils for the characters and public turmoils for the United States government. Particularly, the landscape and setting of the story play an important role, such as the Pennsylvania back country where Maycott and her husband, Andrew, distill whiskey and become entangled with the bitter Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, and the political bickering amongst the Founding Fathers within the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia.

Overall, WHISKEY REBELS reflects on American history with the interesting tinge of fiction. And this book may be a nice addition to any historic fiction reader's collection.

"The Whiskey Rebels" is one of those rare historical novels that plunges readers deep into its chosen era and fills the imagination with characters that leap off the page. Set in post-revolutionary America (late 1700's) David Liss tells a tale of intrigue, politics and unrequited love through the eyes of two characters: Joan Maycott and Ethan Saunders. Joan is an intelligent, headstrong woman who transforms before our eyes from a doe-eyed teenager who dreams of writing novels, to an iron-backed revolutionary obsessed with revenge. Along the way her path crosses with that of Ethan Saunders, a disgraced officer who once served as General Washington's most valuable spy. After being falsely accused of treason Ethan's military career came to an end, and he spent the next several years wallowing in drink, women, and sorrow over the knowledge that his one-time fiancée married another man. When Joan and Ethan finally meet their mutual passion and disparate loyalties draw them into a plot that could ruin the nation.

Based on the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 and incorporating characters such as Alexander Hamilton, William Duer and Aaron Burr, the novel does a marvelous job of weaving fiction and history. I found myself walking a little faster on my way to the train, so eager was I to dive back into the story during my daily commute.

The setting of the book took place after the War of American Revolution and after the Constitution of the United States was adopted by the states. It follows two fictional characters--Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott--and presents their story. Initially, these two characters do not cross paths, and it seems as though, one is reading two different books. However, later on, their paths cross, with surprising twists and turns. Some of the questions raised by reading Saunders' story is answered by reading Maycott's version.

I enjoy history, and enjoy reading Shaara's books, and this is the first time that I have read Liss's. I enjoy the style of reading from the perspective of individuals in the middle of the situation having to make decisions based on their current information. I guess I am partial to Shaara's style of writing where all the individuals are real historical people. Because of the introduction of two fictional characters, I question how much of the events are given to creative license. I also wished that more were written about how the rebellion ended and the aftermath of banking crises.

Liss in true Liss form! I adored A Conspiracy of Paper and A Spectacle of Corruption and enjoyed greatly The Coffee Trader. Mr. Liss is a writer with several gifts, and seemingly displays them to their best advantage in works of historical fiction. (I was no fan of The Ethical Assassin since it felt undeveloped and unfinished to me.)

Most unusually, Mr. Liss can take any business conflict and make it into a story. He tells us the story of the business panic that in part led to the Whiskey Rebellion in this novel (I grossly oversimplify the twists and turns, but that's the penalty of wanting to keep this under 5000 words!) from the points of view held by two victims of honor. Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott have wildly diverging aims in this novel; their conflict is completely believable; they are characters representing very real conflicts in American society at that time, and they do so without feeling like invented mouthpieces for a particular cause or view. This is Mr. Liss's extraordinary gift to historical fiction, that his characters breathe enough life to seem as though their actions are inevitable outgrowths of their described and/or demonstrated interests. This talent above all others should win Mr. Liss a place on the bestseller lists, since he competes against authors of creative facility and character-building imbecility (eg, James Patterson, John Grisham) for male readership.

Another of the gifts Mr. Liss brings to the table is his deftness of plotting. It takes a writer of skill to make a complex issue like a bank failure (and how timely is that choice of plot point!) into something exciting to the reader and highly personal to the characters. I was riveted to the descriptions of one character's machinations to achieve a particular result to the failure of the Million Bank and the reasons for that character's venomous hatreds and callously indifferent behaviors was both cause and effect in the spiraling, stomach-churning race that forms the last thrilling 40 pages of this novel.

Really highly recommended for anyone looking to find a fine writer with a gift for storytelling coupled to a sense of timing that cannot be beat.

The Whiskey Rebels takes a closer look at 1789-1791, a period generally ignored by school history classes. The story follows two main characters. Captain Ethan Saunders left the Army of the Potomac in disgrace and, in 1791, finds himself caught up in intrigue swirling around his former fiance, Alexander Hamilton and the Bank of the United States. Joan Maycott and her husband leave Philadelphia for the wilderness around Pittsburgh in 1789 and become heavily involved in distilling whiskey.

Liss does an excellent job putting the reader in the time and locales. Readers appreciate the access to historical figures like Hamilton. Liss paints a vivid picture of everyday life for the wealthy, the would-be wealthy, the poor and the desperate.

Chapters alternate between Maycott and Saunders. It's a common enough device, but hits some rough patches here. Saunders' story takes place during the latter half of 1791, while Maycott's begins 3 years earlier. As their stories involve some of the same characters, it's difficult at times to keep track of what a supporting character has and hasn't done yet. At the same time, Maycott's struggle to establish a life in the west is often more interesting than Saunders' daily activities.

There's a reason for that. Saunders and Maycott eventually meet in 1791, but to keep the chapter sequence going, it may seem that Saunders is killing time until the other character shows up. His story is told on an almost daily basis, while weeks or months go by between Maycott's chapters. The Saunders sequences, however, could not be combined into a long expository meeting between him and Maycott as much of what he does explains to the reader the intricacies of bank speculation at the end of the 18th century. It's necessary, but readers may find themselves preferring one of the two plot lines more than the other until they come together.

Saunders and Maycott find themselves on opposing sides of the financial and political future of the country, although Maycott is the only one who knows that until the last few chapters of the novel. Until this point, the reader has been rooting for each character to succeed in his or her private missions. Then it feel necessary to choose a side between two people the reader has come to care about. And Maycott doesn't seem at all like the woman we met in the early pages. The signs and reason for her changing personality are clear in the book, but the positions she and Saunders stand for require a choice between them.

A quick perusal of Wikipedia entries on Hamilton, Maria Reynolds, Whiskey Rebellion and William Duer can tell you how history worked itself out without the intervention of the fictional characters. Liss doesn't create an alternate history by changing the outcomes, but presents an alternate catalyst that ties together some of history's disparate threads. By the end of the novel, the reader comes away with a better sense of why Hamilton mattered in the early government.

I finished my Advanced Reading Copy of The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. Ask my wife. I can't stop talking about this book. I am a history buff and have started to really take an interest in the American Revolution and the following twenty years in which our nation went through tremendous growing pains to find our identity as a nation. I recently read Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton and both loved it and learned a tremendous amount. So when I received the ARC for this book I was really excited to get right to it. I have heard that Mr. Liss came up with the idea for this book while reading Alexander Hamilton.

I have read three of the other four books by Mr. Liss and really enjoyed them. These books all have a great mystery to be solved and have history lesson worked in. His books are well written with a flair for historical accuracy. The historical details work because they presented as a history lesson, but to create the environment that the characters move through. The Whiskey Rebels is no exception.

The book follows two main characters, Captain Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott. Each character narrates their alternating chapters in the first person with Capt. Saunders narrating the first chapter and Mrs. Maycott narrating the second chapter. Capt. Saunders narrates in the present while Mrs. Maycott tells her story starting years earlier which catches up to Capt. Saunders and the "present" by the end of the book. I loved the dual narrators. It accomplished two things. First, Mrs. Maycott's chapters work as a history lesson of sorts, explain and putting a human face of the origins of the future Whiskey Rebellion. It's not just a history lesson though. He story is very intriguing and would certainly keep you reading if it were it's own stand along novel. Second, Capt. Saunders' is a more action oriented role. Having his voice silenced for a chapter serves to build the tension as you wait to find out what will happen to him next.

One other note. There are layers to this book. Mr. Liss explains them a bit in the Author's Note at the end of the book, but there are quite a few secondary characters who were indeed real people. You could easily read through the book and if you haven't read up on this period of history you would have no idea there aren't just characters made up for the book. I love the fact that he was able to use these people in this fictitious story, and does so in a way that he isn't distorting them. He weaves them realistically into his plot to the point that if you don't know the history well, you don't know where fact end and fiction begins.

This was certainly a fun read, for me anyway, set in the context of a little-known era in American history. It was a quick, page-turning scamper that I thoroughly enjoyed. But, except for the financial matters concerning the then nascent Bank of The United States, I couldn't take it too seriously. So many coincidences and stock characters jumping off nearly every page do not exactly make for a serious, literary read. I'm rather surprised at how seriously my fellow reviewers seem to take all this contrivance, so necessary in a "gotcha" page-turner.

So no doubt I'm not endearing myself to the soi-disant history buffs and literary aficionados who have written what amount to full-fledged essays here. Let me just tell the prospective reader what I found worthwhile here, and then I'll sit back and watch the negative votes pile up:

1.) Again, it was fun.

2.) The witty badinage, usually placed in the mouth of Captain Ethan Saunders, one of our two narrators, is quite sprightly. As an example, Saunders's encounter with the cadaverous Whippo and dangerous Jack Reynolds:

"What pit of vomit have you crawled from?" Whippo inquired.
"Why, good afternoon to you my friend," I answered. "Your eyes look particularly hollow today. How DO you accomplish that?"
"I notice you don't insult this gentleman," he said, gesturing at Reynolds.
"I would not insult a man with so beautiful a wife. It cannot be easy to have convinced such a gem to marry a man of your stripe."
"She's a slut," said Reynolds.
"Well," I said brightly, "that IS good news."

All very droll, indeed.

3.) The aforesaid financial matters are well-threshed out here concerning The Bank of The United States and the causes of the Whiskey Rebellion. You can learn a great deal of history and finance if you pay close attention to certain parts of the narrative while tripping the light fantastic through the rest of it.

I was debating between three and four stars - but I think four, given the pertinence to the global banking crisis as of this writing.

David Liss writes wonderful works of historical thrillers. I enjoyed Liss's The Coffee Trader very much. Like that book, this is a truly compelling page-turner that transports the reader to the world of 1792 Philadelphia at the dawn of a new nation.

This a complex and spell binding yarn. It is extremely well written and the characters are well developed. This book has something for everyone-mystery, intrigue, swash-buckling adventure, lively banter and a wonderful tongue in cheek humor.

This is a definite good read and highly enjoyable. It is a satisfying use of the reader's time.

I have always loved history and historical fiction from the Revolutionary War period. The Whiskey Rebels takes place in the Philadelphia, New York City, and the area between there and Western Pennsylvania shortly after the war ended. The book is mostly factual with only a few fictional characters molded into actuality with a bit of fiction to enhance the story. David Liss writes in a style characteristic with the period, making the reader feel in the middle of the action and descriptions.

Alexander Hamilton's running of the United States Treasury and his attempt to keep it flourishing amidst those that would attack the system to gain financial advantage for themselves became quite a challenge in those days. There was little communication other than riders racing from one point to another to announce any major moves or news so the road to success or ruin for the government or individuals was in constant change that would be unknown in some areas.

Ethan Saunders and a close friend had been discharged from the military and charged with spying, a charge that ruined their lives for some time. The many characters in the book, most of whom were actual people from that period of history, are intertwined throughout the book, making you sometimes wonder who were the "good guys" and who were the "bad guys" and which were helping the United States government and which were against it. The distilling of a new type of whiskey came to the western Pennsylvania area making that particular blend known all over the broad area. That type of news traveled fast. When the government heard about this new whiskey, they imposed a whiskey excise tax making the distillers irate. This tax caused much fighting and killing.

I will not go into detail to describe and name the many that made this story such a great read for one such as myself that can't get enough history of that period. Know that there are many and they are described very ably by David Liss as they travel from one area to another, sometimes being attacked, sometimes attacking, and killing several along the way to preserve their way of life. If you like period historical fiction from the post-Revolutionary War era, you will eat this book up.

This is one of the best books I have read in a while! Historical fiction has always been one of my favorite genres, and this well-written novel exhibits all of the best traits. There is a compelling plot, interesting characters, and a smattering of actual historical figures mixed in. Here we have Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and even a cameo appearance by George Washington! The plot concerns the excise tax on whiskey made west of the Allegheny mountains during Washington's first term, but it also involves Hamilton's plan for the Bank of the United States. There are financial dealings that I couldn't quite grasp, but that did not interfere with my enjoyment of the story line. The protagonists are well-defined, and even minor characters are fleshed out quite well. This is the type of book that will keep you reading long after you should be in bed and sleeping.

This isn't your mother's historical novel.

Who knew this much intrigue was going on in 1792? This book reads like the best spy novel, with the added benefit of being so well written it is a joy to read the simple construction of sentences.The dialogue is sharp, intelligent, clear and witty; people don't talk with half this forethought today, or at least so it seems to me.

The story is told from two perspectives; Captain Ethan Saunders, a disgraced spy for the American cause, who has been unfairly accused of being a counterspy and dismissed from the army; and Joan Maycott, a proper lady of good family but not much money, who by means of trickery is lured to the frontier with her smart, insightful husband. The book alternates in their different stories, while gradually - very gradually - bringing the two into the same theatre of intrigue and mayhem. At the forefront is the formation of the Bank of America, with its ramrod, Alexander Hamilton; leading up to this formation is the attempt to undermine it by the formation of a rival bank by those only interested in bringing down the American cause. This is where Joan comes in; she and her husband are part of a group whose revenue depends on whiskey distilling and distribution, an enterprise Hamilton wishes to tax. I won't go into detail here, so as not to ruin the story, but I will say that Joan Maycott suffers horrible deprivation owing to this taxation, and this catapults her into doing her best to snag Hamilton's ambitions.

The participants in this book are colorfully drawn, intensely vibrant, and strongly written. Saunders is a sot, but a sot with not only a brain but a heart; what romance enters into this book comes primarily from him. He is attended by the most independent of slaves, a big man named Leonidas, who, curiously, only appears to perform the tasks which he wishes to do. The two are more nearly friends than master and slave, and work together well. Hamilton is drawn more clearly than I have ever thought to consider him; until now, I didn't have much understanding of his position in the fledgling financial world of 1792 America. Now I know why he's on the 10 dollar bill.

There are a multitude of other characters, hardly any virtuous, but all extremely interesting. All seem to be following their own twisted path to redemption, mostly from rich to richer. Those who fall, fall hard; and it is never entirely clear who is being outthought or by whom.

This is the most different historical novel I have ever had the pleasure to read. There is nothing written just for shock value; everything knits itself into the whole, forming an intrinsic, tightly constructed piece of work that stands as one of the nicest bits of writing I have seen in a long time. It was a joy to read. I felt as though I was actually there, in those grand houses and in the dark cabins and bars, trudging through the muddy streets of Philadelphia and New York. A book for an aficianado of that period, it was extremely well researched and planned out. A great many of the characters were actual people of history as well. Recommended.

Imagine a world in which James Bond has no fancy cars, no computers, no sexy aides de camp, and his overland slog from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh takes longer than a slow boat across the Atlantic. That's what David Liss offers us in "The Whiskey Rebels," an espionage thriller set in the years immediately after the American Revolution. And the product is a novel that will be a pleasure both to readers of spy mysteries and fans of historical fiction.

Despite the title, this novel doesn't turn on the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. You may recall from high school history that Alexander Hamilton, Washington's Treasury Secretary, levied an excise tax on rye whiskey, the only commodity white settlers in the Monongahela and Ohio valleys could trade at a profit to stave off abject poverty. This story centers on that excise tax, and the way a small band of justice-seekers, forced off their land by this tax, seek to get back what was taken from them. The payoff is not the rebellion of 1794, but the bank panic of 1792.

In telling this story, Liss, an established writer of historical mysteries, mixes history and gripping storytelling. Historical figures like Hamilton are major characters, while Thomas Jefferson and even George Washington briefly appear. A major question is which form of society America will be, Jefferson's republic of small rural freeholders, or Hamilton's busy paradise of business and capital. This America is a new land, with the potential to go any direction--but precious little chance to go back if it chooses the wrong road.

Ethan Saunders is a veteran of the Revolution, a former spy under the command of General Washington himself, once a hero before he left the Army under a cloud of disgrace. Now he tries to drink himself into the void and hugs his anticipated death. But when his great love from the war years pushes her way back into his life, he uncovers a new reason to live, and a chance to redeem himself from the accusations that continue to haunt him.

Joan Maycott is a passionate woman, learned and willful, and very much in love with her war-hero husband. But she fails as an intellectual, a businesswoman, and a farmer, because the rich and powerful see her and her husband as tools for their use. Only after taking more abuse than any human should have to suffer does she succeed at her true calling: an agent provocateur and a sower of chaos in the lives of those who have tried to break her down.

The converging narrative of these two characters feels like watching two trains bear down on each other with implacable anger. They exist on separate sides of a remorseless conflict, and we know at least one of them is doomed to fail. But the real fascination is the wake they leave behind them.

Saunders, hog-tied by a reputation he thinks he doesn't deserve and by drunken abuse he admits, can't seem to decide whether he's a force for destruction or salvation. He lies to his only friend, proclaims his love for one woman while openly womanizing, and fights for the republic while trading blows with its chief agents. Maycott lives to wreak ruin on the rich, whom she blames for her suffering, but marinates in guilt for the innocent she knows must suffer when her revenges come to fruition.

Behind both of these characters is the runaway economic speculation of the late 18th Century, a time when America was finally coming into its own as an economy, and the gap between the wealthy minority and the working masses was about as big as it has ever been. Reading the narratives of runaway speculators destroying poor smallholders by trading in unregulated futures and becoming millionaires on paper, it's difficult not to look at the recent dot-com and housing bubbles and smirk in recognition.

Liss avoids taking sides between the Jeffersonian ideal and Hamilton's rich speculators, but it's hard to feel sympathy for capitalists like William Duer and Jacob Pearson in this novel. They justify self-seeking behavior with republican ideals they don't share. Meanwhile, they enrich themselves by making hip-pocket deals with poor war heroes and, when those heroes make lives for themselves on the frontier anyway, they swipe that little bit back in any way they can.

The language in this novel is interesting. Liss tries to recreate the language of Thomas Jefferson and Charles Brockden Brown, but with a crisp contemporary editorial hand that is more likely to appeal to readers in the early 21st Century. Anyone unaccustomed to reading historical fiction or period literature may need a little time to get used to the slightly archaic but punchy usage.

But this is very much a spy thriller in the Ian Fleming mold, not just another historical romance. Reading it requires peeling back layers of meaning and degrees of falsehood. When things appear to be wrapping up, that's a sure sign they're just getting started. And true heroism comes out when words lead to actions, not just more words.

This brisk and engaging mystery appeals to several different audiences at once. The tension between the characters as they struggle with the damage they've suffered and the damage they inflict, and the relentless way they come together in a sort of period-driven cataclysm, rings with a smooth and overwhelming force. Whether you like thrillers, costume dramas, war stories, or just want to read something unlike most of what's on the market right now, this book will draw you in and not let you go until the closing word.